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Voice Extreme module and the BS-II. — Parallax Forums

Voice Extreme module and the BS-II.

Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC)Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC) Posts: 71
edited 2005-06-24 13:09 in Robotics
Hello Folks!

I'll probably go down as the person who asks the most questions on this forum lol.gif.

I have the Voice Extreme from Sensory Inc., which I found out about a month ago is no longer a supported product of said company. I have the full developers board with two VE modules (spares), guess I am lucky to have them now. My question is, is it possible to interface one of these little gems to the Basic Stamp II or am I expecting too much. I have read the docs over and over for these modules, it does seem that it can be done. But, I think it will require many I/O pins on the Basic Stamp II. Has anyone been successful in adapting the VE module to the BS-II????

As usual, thanks for the replies or nudges into the right direction smile.gif


Respectfully,
Michael G. Jessat

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-06-23 02:47
    Michael,

    ·· It's always best to provide as much information as you can when asking about technical questions.· For example, in this case, attaching the datasheet, or at least describing how the device works would be helpful.· For example, does it interface using Synchronous Serial?· Parallel Interface?· Maybe list some pin defs please.· =)

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC)Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC) Posts: 71
    edited 2005-06-23 03:16
    Chris,

    Sorry about that. I was searching the Sensory, Inc. web site, only to find that they have pulled all references to the now defunct line of the Voice Extreme and Voice Direct Modules. Here is a link to the only company that seems to still have them in stock. They are the only site I've found that has the full programmers documentation and user guides. Visit http://www.active-robots.com/products/accessories/speech-details-1.shtml. These modules are programmed in VE-C, use RS-232C to download the programs into the 2MB flash memory. They have quite a few I/O pins on the VE module for interfacing. On the web site listed they show a prototype robot, the 'VAR1' that if you look close enough at the circuit board, seems to be a Basic Stamp microcontroller. The limited amount of playing with these modules shows. What I do know is that the program you create using the VE-C IDE is downloaded via RS-232C. The program is then run independently on the module itself. I/O ports on the module can be enabled/disabled that allow for communications to the microcontroller (still uncertain about protocols, haven't gotten there yet). The robot dog i-Cybie (which I own), uses the same Sensory chipset for voice recognition. So I'm certain that interfacing is highly likely, but don't know how many I/O's on the BS-II I'll be using.

    Thanks again Chris for your help!!

    Respectfully,
    Michael G. Jessat
  • Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC)Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC) Posts: 71
    edited 2005-06-23 03:26
    Chris,

    I confirmed the VE module uses a serial protocol. Pin P0.0 (Serial port input from host - RCV), Pin P0.1 (Serial port output from host - XMT), Pin 1.7 (Serial port enable, output 0=off, 1=on). This module also has support for a 4X5 matrix keypad.


    Thanks again!
    Michael G. Jessat

    I think this is another case of RTFM blush.gif

    Post Edited (Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC)) : 6/23/2005 3:31:12 AM GMT
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-06-23 04:10
    See,

    ·· That's not many I/O lines...I haven't used the module, but perhaps someone on here has...Hang in there.



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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • Kevin B SlaterKevin B Slater Posts: 49
    edited 2005-06-23 15:35
    Michael,
    · I don't have the product in question so take my advice with a grain of salt.· I think you are on the right track.· Just glancing through the documentation I believe you want to use the RS-232 communication functions.·· The information on that subject·starts on page 90 of the Full Programmers Manual.· And the bonus is that the VE module appears to use logic-level RS-232 so no additional interfacing circuit will be required.· Although the data-sheet is not specific on this I would investigate it further.

    Kevin

    P.S. Keep asking questions, every time you ask about something I learn about some new product out there that I didn't know about before.
  • Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC)Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC) Posts: 71
    edited 2005-06-23 20:57
    Kevin,

    Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it, and everyones posts.

    The Voice Extreme modules are really cool devices, its ashame Sensory, Inc. discountinued the product. I bought two modules along with the full developers board about 6 months ago. I never got around to playing with it during that time. But now I see them just sitting around gathering dust in my workshop. I figured, what the heck, why not try to use them for something interesting. These modules support voice recognition (both speaker dependant and independant), and voice synthesis, all in one unit. They, (Sensory, Inc.), claimed 99% accuracy when used with the proper microphone for voice recognition. I'm dying to see one of these acting as a voice interface to my current robotics project. If you visited www.active-robots.com (full url in one of my previous posts), you can see a prototype robot the 'VAR1' (Voice activated Robot v1.0). It is making use of one of these modules for just that purpose. With their 'VAR1' robot you speak a command such as 'go' or 'forward' and the robot replies 'Off we go!' moving forward until given another command. And if you look really close on the robots circuit board, I have to believe that its using a Basic Stamp of one flavour or another. If I can get this module to work, I'm going to hoard as many that I can possibly locate. They are truly unique.

    Respectfully,
    Michael G. Jessat
  • Ryan ClarkeRyan Clarke Posts: 738
    edited 2005-06-24 04:16
    It may or may not work, but consider such a setup with the emic text-to-speech: you issue a command, and the bot parrots back the command for confirmation. Or some serious 'interaction' with listening/speaking- just thinking out loud [noparse];)[/noparse]

    Ryan
  • Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC)Dobermann (Black Dog Systems, LLC) Posts: 71
    edited 2005-06-24 13:09
    Ryan,

    That is an option too, but since I've already got these modules (they were not cheap), I'm going to have a go with them first. In looking at a few application notes about the VE modules, they do seem to interface with microcontrollers. I'm still just a little in the dark about how. I know that they use RS-232C serial protocol, since this is the case and it is logic level, I think it may be just a simple matter. I would program the VE in VE-C, then make simple calls to routines in PBASIC. I think its just a matter of the BS-II and VE module ACK'ing each other. Time will tell, but thanks for your reply, I will consider the EMIC as a fall-back.


    Respectfully,
    Michael G. Jessat
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